The Delicate Sound of Thunder Rumbling (Return to Dodge)
by murphycat
Summary: No one gets away from their pasts. Not even Matt Dillon. Especially sins of omission. Hang on for the ride and give it a chance. A review/note would be nice. It's a breadcrumb that writers follow to lead them to the end of the story.
1. Chapter 1

Return to Dodge:

Chapter 1

Kitty lay down on the bed in her old room above the Long Branch. Hannah had insisted that she stay there. Practically pulled her inside because she was so glad to see her old friend finally back in Dodge City.

Kitty was more than ambivalent about staying here. There was long and emotional history in this room, hell, in this town.

She was exhausted, traveling from New Orleans after receiving the telegram telling her about Matt's turning up and not being expected to live.

There was a part of Kitty that hated that about herself. She was angry, still. For twenty years, she had given everything, sacrificed her chance to have a husband. Granted, Matt had told her from the beginning that he didn't want a wife or a family, but it's damn hard to argue with love and hope, especially for a woman with a heart as large as hers.

It sure didn't help that Matt was everything she'd ever wanted in a man. Honest, honorable, brave. She hadn't counted on his being so emotionally distant for so long. Kitty Russell was subject to the curse of women everywhere; they were always hopeful that men would change their minds, come to their senses when they realized what they had. If they did, it was usually too late.

Kitty would always love him, but hated that when he needed her she still came running. It's hard to change some habits. Some love never fades, cliché that it is.

Deep down, she still wanted him—in every way. Seeing him lying there, his curly hair, now grey, hadn't stilled the desire to run her hand along the side of his jaw or run her slim fingers gently through his hair.

Twelve years ago, she had managed to break away. God, it had almost crushed her soul, but she'd done it. In the weeks and months after she'd left Dodge, she'd lost so much weight that she'd withered away to almost nothing. Throwing herself into a new business had saved her life. During the day. Her nights were haunted by dreams and tears and crushing loneliness that only one man could fill. The one man who wouldn't fill it.

Kitty had hoped, against reason that he would come after her, if just to see how she was doing. Maybe just written her a letter.

He hadn't, of course.

No one else had ever filled that giant Matt sized hole in her heart. Kitty had taken lovers, rarely, but it was empty and left her lonelier than ever.

So why on God's green earth had she rushed back to Dodge to see him, fearing that he might die before she got there? What did she expect that he'd say? That he was sorry. That he'd made a mistake. He wanted her to stay with him.

He hadn't, and here she was sitting in her old room. _Their_ old room. Filled with memories. Suddenly Kitty's chest tightened and she couldn't hold back the hot tears.

Had it all worth it for him in the long run, she wondered.

Had his badge filled the hole she had left in his heart? Did she even leave a hole in his heart? She believed so at one time. Now, she didn't have a clue.

Matt lay back on his pillow in the doctor's office.

He should be dead by rights. How in the hell had he managed to survive all he had? Most importantly, what had he ever done to deserve the woman who had traveled almost a thousand miles to see him? Not a damn thing, he thought.

The old marshal felt a sickening pain in his gut at what he had done to her. What he had done to them. For what? No one cared if he came home at night or where the hell he was, alive or dead.

He had friends, but it wasn't the same. The intimacy was never there. In fact, no one he'd ever met had lit the fire that she had in his heart and loins. The hours they had spent in each other's arms, making love, talking, and laughing, he had buried deep. He never allowed himself to take out those memories no matter how cold the mountain or how lonely he was. He wasn't strong enough to relive them; they would eat him alive.

He had promised that he'd never leave a widow and children as he'd seen other lawmen do. Their fates after that were like leaves in the wind, and their anguish caused by their loss was unmatched.

Matt had always known that Kitty was strong. He knew she could make it without him, but when he saw her, she didn't strike him as her old self. She wasn't filled with that light, that aura,that always surrounded Kitty.

He was glad to see her though. Matt hadn't felt his heart speed up like that even when he'd been chased by a grizzly last. He had been pretty sure he could escape the bear.

Kitty had made his stomach lurch at the sight of her. He sure wasn't as sure he could handle the red head.


	2. Chapter 2

The Sound of Thunder Rumbling

Chapter 2

Kitty stood in the window above Front Street and watched Matt ride away.

Once again he blamed himself for the evil that Will Mannon had brought into their lives. A well of sadness with depthless bottom filled her as she watched him turn his back and leave. Matt was always good at leaving everything unsaid.

Wrapping her arms around herself, both in an effort to hold herself together and keep warm, she startled at the sound of glass crunching behind her, and the sixty year old woman flinched when the hand firmly took her shoulder, until she heard the words, "Mother? Are you alright? What the hell's going on here?"

*********************************************************XX

Matt Dillon camped down by Silver Creek. His old fishing spot was still there, but he had to go a little further back to have privacy than he used to.

His 70ish bones ached when he unfolded his thin, long self onto his worn out bedroll.

He couldn't shake the look of pain and hurt from Kitty's face when he turned away. No matter how hard he tried, this time he couldn't push it back far enough into the recesses of his mind.

Why hadn't he even asked how she was? Just taken her in his arms one more time?

Matt threw one more piece of half rotten wood into the fire and then leaned back against his saddle. His wound ached like a sore tooth and he couldn't seem to get comfortable. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get warm enough.

The fire's crackling and the dancing flames were hypnotic and eventually his old body fell into a restless doze.

**************************************************************************X

Lena tucked her exhausted mother into bed. She had gotten a pan of warm water from Hannah downstairs and cleaned her mother's face and helped her get dressed in her nightgown.

A large bruise colored her mother's cheek, and it'd been a long time since she'd seen her look so tired—or defeated. Lena didn't like it.

Not arguing with her was a bad sign. Her mother always put up a fuss when someone tried to take care of her. Not this time. It seemed like something inside her had broken, and she was spent.

Her mother had left her in New Orleans, to continue her studies at Newcombe Memorial College. Her mother's message was that she had an emergency back in Dodge, where she still owned half of the Long Branch Saloon, and to telegraph her if there was an emergency and to not disrupt her studies.

The 18 year old had bought a ticket to Dodge City, Kansas, the morning after receiving the message, and now she was here. Never had Lena been left without her mother telling her goodbye in person. They hadn't been apart since she was six years old, and Kitty had returned to New Orleans for good.

Something was wrong, and, by damn, she intended to find out what was going on. Her entire life had been filled not so much with secrets but by things left unsaid—or not enough said.

In this dusty backwater, Lena would finally get to the bottom of it. Here, in Dodge City, where most of her mother's old life lay.

Hannah assessed the tall, auburn haired young woman stride down the stairs like she had someone's ass to kick and couldn't wait to get to it. She had known that this one was going to be trouble from the time the girl had stepped up to the doors of the Long Branch and asked where she could find her mother. Chaos was still reining in the street, but it hadn't stopped this one. This child had a steel backbone. She was gonna need it, the old barkeeper thought.

Hannah watched as she approached her table, coffee pot and cups at the ready.

"Coffee?"

The young woman nodded.

"You got a name," the older woman asked, pushing the cup across to her.

"Lena. Kitty is my mother."

The blue eyes were striking and penetrated right into Hannah, daring her to say anything, ready to defend the woman upstairs.

"I know who you are. I saw you once a long time ago. I'm glad you're here actually. Your mama needs you."

Lena took a sip from the cup, her good manners not masked by the temper that she had raging at the moment.

"Good coffee. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I know what you want, but I don't think I should be the one to tell you. That should be your mama's job or your daddy's."

"My daddy's? Yeah, like that's gonna happen. It's not like he's handy to ask, is he?"

"No, but I bet I know someone who could help you find him."

Lena shot her a strange questioning look.

"Who can help?"

"Newly O'Brian, marshal in town." Hannah jerked her head in the direction of the US Marshal's Office. "Building on the corner, across the street. He should be there. Ask Newly if he knows where to find him."

The young woman glanced back up toward where her mama was sleeping.

"Don't worry," Hannah said, reading her mind. "I'll take care of your mother."

Pushing the cup back across the scarred table, Lena said, "Appreciate the help. Tell her I'll be back as soon as I can."

Hannah watched her stride to the doors, then said aloud to the empty room, "Well, she's got her father's conversational skills."

XX***************************************************************************XX

A knock at the door drew a rough "Come in" from Newly O'Brien. It had been a long, crappy day and he thought he had wrapped it up. Apparently not.

Newly had seen the striking young woman before when she had left the train station. At that time, she had worn a royal blue traveling dress and jacket, but now she was dressed in men's pants, a tucked flannel shirt, and boots. Her hair was pulled into a tight pony tail.

"Hello. Are you Marshal O'Brien?"

Newly stood instinctively. "Yes, ma'am, what can I help you with?"

"A man left town earlier, after the excitement. I'd like—I want to talk to him. He—well, I _need_ to talk to him," she finally managed to stutter out.

"May I ask your business with this man, miss? He's probably not in the best humor today. It might be better to wait," Newly said politely.

"Hannah, at the Long Branch, said he might be able to answer some questions for me concerning—about my father. While my mother is resting, I'd like to find him. I don't want to leave her alone for long."

"Your mother? Who might that be?"

"I think you know her as Miss Kitty; she used to run the Long Branch."

Newly sank back down into his chair, and the only thing he could think to say was, "I think that's wise considering what she's been through over the last 24 hours."

"And what would that be Marshal O'Brien?"

"I think that's something your mother should discuss with you, miss."

Lena narrowed her eyes. "That refrain is getting a bit tiresome. Wait until 'mama or daddy' can explain it to me. I'm not a child."

Her eyes were like blue fire, burning with an intensity that he had found familiar-now he knew why.

"May I at least know your name before I take you to this man you're in such a lather to see?"

Marshal O'Brien had a gravitas that made her trust him.

"Lena Adams."

Newly was momentarily speechless. " _Adams_ did you say?"

"Is that a problem, sir?"

"No, no problem. I'm just surprised is all. We used to have a doctor here by the name of Adams. Any relation?"

Newly received a tight smile.

"My name is Lena, as in 'Galen'. What do you think?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It wasn't daylight yet when Matt Dillon heard the sound of horses' hooves. He reached for his rifle, scooted into a necrotic copse of trees and waited.

Two riders. He held his breath and heard them dismount.

"Marshal Dillon? It's Newly."

Matt relaxed the tight grip on his rifle and stepped more into the open.

"Newly! What are you doin' out here?"

It was then the old man noticed someone standing beside his friend.

"Who you got with you, there? Step over here next to the fire before you freeze to death." He wanted to get a good look at what was going on. Had Newly been forced to bring this man here?

Even in the firelight, Matt could tell that the one standing beside Newly was a tall young woman, though dressed like a man.

"Matt," Newly began, but was cut off when Lena stepped forward.

She removed her hat and stepped up close to the old marshal. The firelight brought out the deep red tones of her hair, as it fell free.

"So you're Matt Dillon?" Her tone was not friendly, but almost disappointed.

"Miss, do I know you?"

"No, obviously you don't, but you know my mother, Kitty Russell."

"Kitty….Kitty Russ-"

Lena planted a swift uppercut firmly into Matt's gut, and with him being unprepared, knocked the wind out of him. She had hit powerful hard and the spot she chose seemed connected to his still sore wound.

"Yes, you do know _her,_ I assume. I'm her daughter."

He sank down onto an old log by the fire, collected his breath, and tried to make sense of the words still echoing in his ears.

 _Kitty's daughter?_

"Miss—" Matt tried to say.

"Lena. My name is Lena. I don't suppose you would know that. I assume that you do know that my _mother_ is upstairs at the Long Branch recovering from whatever went on here, which I'm sure had something to do with you.

"I've heard about you, Dillon. Everywhere you go mayhem ensues and bullets fly.

"Mister, I've got one thing to say to you: stay the hell away from my mother," Lena hissed. "You'll be lucky if I don't shoot you myself, if I see you near her again."

Turning back to Newly, she said, calm as pond water, "I can find my own way back to Dodge, Mr. O'Brien. Thank you for your help."

She climbed into the saddle on the sorrel in one swift move, turned the gelding's head back toward town, and didn't look back. Her business concluded.

Newly sat down across from his old friend and mentor.

"I'm sorry about that Matt. I had no idea what she was up to. She told me she wanted to ask you questions about her father."

"Her father?" Matt sputtered. "Me?"

Matt leaned back and appeared to collect himself.

"Uh, no." Newly looked uncomfortable. "She said her name was Lena _Adams_. Uh, as in Doctor Galen Adams."

For the first time, Newly witnessed absolute amazement and confusion cross his old friend's features.

" _Doc's daughter_?" Matt managed to croak out. "No. Oh, hell, no."

He got up and grabbed his saddle and blanket and headed toward his horse.

"Where you going?"

He never looked around as he answered Newly. "I guess I'm gonna test that girl's promise of shooting me on sight, cause I'm getting some answers."

***************************************************XXXX

The Long Branch Saloon was empty, but the door was unlocked when Lena got back.

She'd taken her loaner horse back down to the livery where they had gotten him.

She stood in the empty saloon, taking it all in.

It was dusty. The floor worn, but clean, well, as clean as a floor here was going to get.

Lena walked over to the bar. It was elaborate for a place like Dodge. Not like a New Orleans bar, but this one had a lot of character. Bottles and small mirrors lined the wall.

She took in the silence and bet herself that it probably wasn't this quiet very often, especially in the old days. She let her eyes roam, taking in every aspect, from the old stove to the door, at the end of the bar, which she assumed led to storage.

So this was it. This was the home that she knew her mother still missed.

"It's not the place, young lady, but the memories in it," Kitty's voice reverberated in the large room, making Lena jump. "People make the place; don't ever forget that."

Her mother was standing halfway down the stairs. Lena didn't know how long she'd been standing there, but her mother had always been able to read her easily.

"I remember when this place was packed with cowboys raising Cain. When the long trail drives still came into town in big numbers, and those men would go crazy after being without alcohol or in the presence of women for so long."

Kitty had walked over and was standing behind the bar, opposite Lena, the girl a good three inches taller.

Kitty emitted a low laugh and shook her head in disbelief. "They'd work for weeks on end only to come in here and spend it all in two days, sometimes less. And poor Louie Pheeters always hanging about waiting for any dram of whiskey. He was an awful drunk, but he had such….dignity."

Lena raised her eyebrow in doubt.

"He actually did. And Sam." Kitty glanced as if she expected him to be standing beside her. "Sam was my bartender for years. Bartender, big brother, friend. Festus. Doc." Her voice choked up and her reminiscing trailed off abruptly.

"So what happened? Why did you leave?" Lena had lifted herself up to sit on the bar, long legs dangled off, while she watched her mother's face.

Kitty reached out for her daughter's hand. "You happened. I decided my priorities had changed."

"Mama, tell me the whole story. What happened here in the last few days? Why did you really come here? Don't you think I'm only enough to know the truth?" Lena beseeched.

"Don't you know that I love you enough to overcome anything you have to tell me, even if I changed your life for the worse?"

"Oh, my precious baby girl, don't ever think that." Kitty took a deep breath and said, "Your father isn't dead. He's here. Well, nearby. I had to take you away to protect you. I couldn't even give you his name; I was too afraid someone would come to find us and hurt you. I couldn't live if that happened."

Lena swallowed hard.

"Those articles you had in your hat boxes….the old photographs. Is that man my father?"

Kitty narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "Obviously we need to have a conversation about respecting other's privacy."

Lena rolled her eyes and jumped down from the bar, her long legs making it easy.

"Then you shouldn't have allowed me to play dress up in your closet. And you're avoiding answering my question. Is Matt Dillon my father?"

Kitty slightly shook her head, unaware of what the consequences would be if that question was answered truthfully or not—and a bit afraid to find out.

As she opened her mouth, ready to tell the truth at long last, the Long Branch doors swung open for the second time that morning.

A tall shadow fell across the old floor, and Matt Dillon stepped inside and hooked his thumbs in his belt, surveying the room like he used to do on Saturday nights.

Both women were staring at him in surprise, but before they could speak, the big man uttered words that the red head never thought she'd hear from him, "Kitty, we need to talk."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"I told you to stay away from my mother," the girl's voice was low with fury.

Kitty looked at her in shock. "You did what?!"

"I don't take orders from children, and you should learn to treat your elders with more respect," Matt snapped back.

"When I see an 'elder' that has earned it, then I give it. You haven't."

Kitty said loudly, "Enough! Lena, give us some privacy, please."

"Mother!"

"Lena, I said that is enough." Kitty's lips were tight and her eyes were blazing. "Leave us. Now."

If Lena's eyes had been knives, Matt Dillon would have been dead ten times over.

"I'm going for breakfast," she said as she strode out the doors and onto Front Street. The seriousness of the situation was all that kept Kitty from laughing at how her facial expression and walk was a just a more feminine version of her father's.

Matt walked over to the bar, took off his old hat and placed it beside him.

"She's got quite the temper," Matt said.

"Does she? I hadn't noticed." The corner of Kitty's mouth turned up in a half smile.

"Kitty, is she my daughter?"

Releasing a long breath, she answered, "Yes, she is very much your daughter."

"Why didn't you tell me? She's…..what 19? 20?"

Matt wasn't a happy man. The woman that he believed had shared everything with him, had been totally honest, had instead kept the biggest secret possible.

"Lena is _18_. And what exactly would you have done differently, Matt? Hmm."

Kitty had heard enough. He wasn't going to make her feel guilty. The man who flat out refused to discuss having a family, changed the subject, became so uncomfortable that he invented things to do to get out of discussing his feelings.

"Would you have taken off your badge for good? Let me tell you what would have happened."

Fury and hurt had full rein now. "You would have resented both of us. Or, God forbid, someone would have followed you—us—and then what? Killed you? Hurt Lena? Tell me, Cowboy? What would you have done?"

Matt pulled out a chair and sat down heavily.

"I don't know, Kitty. Now we will never know because you made the decision for both of us."

Rounding the end of the bar, she walked to within a few feet of him.

Kitty shook her head. "No, Matt, I made the decision for me and Lena. You made your decision before you ever even met me. Some half-baked notion about how you couldn't have both a badge and a family. Did that keep the wolves from our door? Was it worth what it cost us? Were they worth more than we were?

The truth of that hit home. She was right. He really hadn't given her a chance. And evil had come calling anyway, in many forms….Bonner, Mannon, Whelen, too many.

"Kitty, why _Adams_? Why is she named Lena Adams?"

"If I gave her my name then she'd be stuck with the stigma of being illegitimate, and I couldn't give her _Dillon_ , which would put her life at risk. I put Doc's name on her birth certificate when she was born. It was easier to have a distant or dead imaginary husband, than no husband at all.

"Then I left her to live with Clare, in New Orleans. She was the only one I'd trust, and, all those buying trips I used to take? I was headed to see our child."

She suddenly seemed so tired and the bruises made her look so vulnerable.

Without speaking, Matt stood and moved in front of this woman that he had loved for such a very long time. Still did.

"Thank you, Kitty."

"What?" She raised her head to look at him, puzzled.

"I couldn't have made the right decision."

"Oh, Matt." She started to cry, so many years of grief overwhelmed her. On top of the trauma of Mannon's appearance, this was just too much.

"Kitty, we both need a rest. Come here."

Matt put his arms around her, and they headed upstairs to their old room.

*************************************************************XXX

Lena entered a greasy spoon restaurant called "Delmonico's," and saw Marshall O'Brien eating alone.

Their eyes met and she moved to his table.

"First, I owe you an apology, and second, do you mind if I sit down and join you for breakfast?"

Newly was dumbfounded by how quickly she could go from ladylike to cowboy so fast.

He started to rise, but she stopped him with her hand.

"No need, please. I just want to eat, not argue."

Newly smiled, "Then please join me, Miss Adams."

"Lena, please."

A short thin waiter came out and handed her a menu covered with fingerprints.

"Go with the eggs, bacon, and biscuit and gravy. There's not much they can mess up with that," the marshal was smiling at her, across the table.

She smiled back. "Thanks, I will. I don't think I can take anymore unpleasant surprises."

Her smile faded, and her blue eyes turned serious. "Matt Dillon is my father."

Newly didn't seem surprised at all. He took a drink of his coffee and absorbed her statement.

"You knew?" Her eyes widened slightly.

"I didn't know about _you_ , but it doesn't surprise me that he's your father. Now if Doc had been your father that would have surprised the hell outta me." He smiled openly at that.

She rolled her eyes. "It seems everyone here, every stranger to me in this place, knows more about my parents than I do."

"Of course they do. Your parents are legends. Together and apart. I'm sorry you had to come in late in the show, but nobody around here will be surprised at who you really are. Matt Dillon and your mama loved each other a very long time."

"Apparently, not long enough for him to care enough to marry her," bitterness colored her voice.

For a bit, Newly said nothing.

Then, "I'm sure you're getting tired of this refrain, but it is more complicated than you know.

"The man who was just killed here, Mannon, was just one man of many who tried to kill your father or hurt him through your mother. Both of them suffered for a long time. It took a toll on them both, but especially your mother.

"There came a time when she couldn't watch him get hurt or die in front of her anymore.

"For your daddy, the only thing he loved as much as your mother was law and order. It's in his blood. He could no more cast that off than you could change the color of your eyes.

"Things are never as simple as they seem to outsiders or youngsters who didn't live through those times, but trust me, Matt Dillon loves your mother. And he didn't know anything about you until you showed up here or you would have seen him before now.

"I know your mama had her reasons, good ones, for keeping you away from here, and I don't judge her for that. It's not my place or anyone else's, but don't hate Mr. Dillon for the same kind of character that I see in you."

When he finished with his soft speech, Lena looked at him with wet eyes.

"After we finish eating, will you take me to see the body of this sonovabitch Mannon that I keep hearing about? I need to put a face to the name. Please."

Newly nodded.

"If it's something you need to do, it'd be better if your father did it-"

The color had risen in her cheeks and he could tell she was ready to argue with him. He held up a hand to stop her.

"But since I know you will go on your own, I'll take you to see Mannon. I think your parents probably have a lot to talk about, and we don't need to add your going to see a dead outlaw's body to the pile."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It felt wonderful and just like it used to feel. His warm body next to hers, and her head on his shoulder. Hell, it had been so long he almost didn't recognize the feeling of being content. Being home.

It felt _right_.

Kitty was asleep. Matt could tell she was exhausted and achy after her run in with Mannon.

Matt remembered someone telling him, as a boy, that a man who beat his dog would beat his woman and _needed_ killin'. He wished he could wake the bastard up and shoot him again.

They had wasted a lot of years, he thought. Probably more time than he had left, but they still had some good years ahead of them. There would be no more worrying about what could have been; it was time to deal with what was and get on with living.

Pulling Kitty deeper into his arms, he rested his chin on the top of her head and closed his eyes.

********************************************X***********

The room was dark and smelled like some sort of solvent like they used on the docks back, in New Orleans.

Newly led the way through the front office, ignoring curious looks, and took Lena to the back where Mannon's body was stretched out on a two boards. He was in the same condition as he had been in when he'd been carried and dumped here.

The marshal stepped back and allowed Lena to get a good look at the body.

"Cheap suit." She pulled the coat back to look at the wounds. "My father do that?"

"He did."

"Good."

Lena reached out and turned Mannon's head toward her and spat directly into his face. "Rot in hell," she muttered.

Turning to Newly, she said, "Thank you. I've seen enough."

They turned to go back out the way they had come in and Newly couldn't help grinning. Lena Adams was a pistol.

**********************************************************X**

As Newly and Lena exited the undertaker's, Nathan Burke was so close to the door that they nearly collided with him.

"Something I can help you with Burke?" Newly asked, knowing the clerk's nosy nature.

Burke smiled and acted all surprised to see them.

"I was curious as to what was going to be done with Mannon's body is all," he stammered.

"You fixin' to pay for the burial, Burke?"

Lena didn't even try to hide her smile, at the man's discomfiture.

"Well, no, but a man can be curious can't he?" He turned to Lena, smiling. "I'm Nathan Burke, and we haven't been introduced."

"No, we haven't have we," Lena said.

She nodded to Newly and walked on down the boardwalk, leaving the two of the standing there.

**********************************************XX**********

The Long Branch was now open for business. A few men loitered about, either at the bar or at tables.

Hannah was behind the bar, and Lena headed her way. A few male heads turned as she crossed the floor. She was aware of the attention, but ignored them all.

Hannah saw her approach and drew a sarsaparilla into a glass and placed it before her.

Lena smiled in appreciation. "Thank you." She took a long pull and placed the glass back on the bar.

She looked across at Hannah, smiling, and shot her a grin. "That does hit the spot."

"Hey, darlin', how about I buy you a drink," she smelled the man who suddenly appeared, before she saw him.

Lena thought he would have been better looking _with_ teeth.

"No, thank you. I don't drink," she said, turning back to Hannah.

He leaned against the bar on one elbow and faced her. "Then what are you doin' in a saloon? I got two dollars, iffn you wanna go upstairs," he whispered loudly, leaning closer, touching her shoulder.

Hannah reached down and felt for the shotgun suspended under the bar in case it was needed.

Suppressing a shudder of disgust, Lena turned and smiled at the reprobate beside her.

"As appealing as that sounds, I'm going to have to say no. Besides if I had the choice between you and falling into a pig sty and being eaten alive, I'd choose the pigs."

Discussion ended as far as she was concerned, but not the dimwitted troublemaker.

"You ain't no prize, ya know. I've seen better looking women. You need to learn you place and take what a man offers. I'm sure it's better than what you got between them legs."

Hannah froze and Lena assumed it was because she anticipated what she was about to do—which was hit him with her mug.

The rube beside her was yanked backwards off his feet like a Kansas twister had sucked him up and he was flat on his back. A big hand reached down, held him up, frog marched him backwards to the batwing doors, and then punched him out onto the dirt of Front Street.

"If you so much as look at her sideways, you good-for-nothing filth, there won't be enough left of you left to bait traps with. You got that?!"

Matt Dillon loomed over the man lying in the dirt.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Dillon. I didn't mean nothing. I jest thought she wuz a whor—"

Two swift kicks to his ribs finally got the message across and shut him up.

"Not another damn word, boy. Understand?" Matt's eyes were like two coals burning his soul into ash.

"Yes, sir," the man managed to croak out.

Matt turned and right behind him stood a swarm of people from inside the saloon, staring wide-eyed.

"And by God, that goes for the rest of you, too!"

Without hesitation, words of "Yes, sir," "No, Marshal Dillon, wouldn't dream of it," "Not me, Mr. Dillon," he parted the crowd like the Red Sea and saw his daughter, her face pale.

Reaching out firmly and taking her upper arm, Matt turned her around, and said, "We need to go upstairs and talk to your mama. Now."

She went quietly.

NOTE: I know the chapters are short, but I am doing my best to post every day. I want to thank all of you who have reviewed. If I haven't gotten back to you personally, it's because my internet is sporadic where I am in the mountains right now. I'm glad you like Lena because the girl has taken on a life of her own and seemed to be dragging me along. I'll try to turn some attention back to her parents. Thanks.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Kitty was looking out the window, holding the curtain back to one side, when Matt and Lena entered the room.

She could tell immediately that something had happened by the flush on both their necks and faces.

Matt led his daughter over to a settee in front of a now cold fireplace and silently directed her to sit down.

Kitty walked back over and chose one of two chairs facing Lena. She cast her eyes up at Matt to let him know he was 'looming' and to take a seat. His size was very intimidating and it wouldn't be conducive to their present circumstances.

To an outsider, they may have looked like a normal family group, outside a saloon, of course.

For a few minutes there was nothing but silence and Matt's breathing gradually slowing.

Kitty asked, "Would one of you like to tell me what is going on? Did you brawl in the street or was it just throwing rocks at each other this time?"

Lena gave her a scowl and the man to her left shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, then, you're both here, so let's get it all out in the open.

**********************************************************X

Lena sat in stunned silence. So the man whose name she carried had not been her mother's dead husband. In fact, her mother had had no husband. The giant man sitting beside her was her father, as she suspected, and who hadn't known a thing about her. He hadn't abandoned them. In fact, he loved her mother. Her mother who had taken her away to protect her, leaving behind everything she knew and the man she loved. All for her.

"I need some time to think," Lena whispered, moving to the door.

"Where are you going?" Matt demanded. "I don't want you running into any more of those hooligans from downstairs."

Her hand on the door knob, she said, "I'll go down the back way; I need some air."

The door clicked shut behind her.

Kitty and Matt looked at each other solemnly.

"Have we just made our daughter hate us, Kitty?"

She placed her hand on top of his, and said, "No. Lena is way stronger than you know. She just needs to study on things. She'll come around."

Kitty squeezed his hand. "She sat here and listened without arguing, didn't she?"

Matt nodded, and now it was his turn to move to the window to stare out. He searched for his daughter, and he spied her walking toward the marshal's office.

***************************************************XXX***

Newly and Lena had left town behind and were now on the open prairie. The sun was bright, the sky blue, and the grasslands seem to go on forever.

"Does the wind ever stop blowing here, Newly," she asked. "I suppose with it being so open, there's not much to stop it." Her hair was tied back, but the breeze had managed to tear strands loose and they whipped about her face.

"You know I've heard stories of settlers on wagon trains going mad from the constant blowing of the wind. Probably some farmers, too, truth be known.

"Kansas is still not very populated, certainly nothing compared to New Orleans," he replied.

"No," she laughed, "It's not at ALL like New Orleans."

"Is that bad or good?" Newly glanced over to watch her reaction.

"Actually, I haven't decided yet." She smiled back.

********************************************************XXX

"Matt, there's something I'd forgotten to mention," Kitty said, touching him on the arm.

"When Mannon first came to the Long Branch, he said something to me. He said he had 'missed me in New Orleans.' How would he know where I was? How did he know we would both be here in Dodge? I mean, it's not like you're here regularly, are you?" Kitty tilted her head, waiting for an answer.

"No, I'm not. The only reason I was nearby was because I was trapping down the mountains, heading for a trading post, when I was ambushed. This would have been the closest town to find a doctor."

Matt's brows pulled together. "I don't like this at all. Mannon didn't have time to travel all the way to Louisiana and back before he got here, so who told him where you'd be? How'd he know we were both here?"

They both realized it at the same time.

He grabbed his hat and headed for the door.

"Wait, where are you going," Kitty cried.

"To find Lena. If someone was watching you and me, you can make damn sure, they've seen her."

"I'm coming with you," Kitty grabbed a shawl.

"Kitty, I don't-"

"I'm. Coming. With. You. Now let's go." She left the door open for him to follow behind her.

****************************************************XXXX

By the time Kitty and Matt found Newly, it was nearly dark. His horse had not wandered very far, and, once they spotted it, the white hat on the ground was easy to see.

After finding out the two had taken horses out for a ride, Kitty had hurriedly changed, promising Matt that if he left without her, she'd go on alone, so he waited, knowing she meant it.

They'd saddled up and had been looking for hours before spotting the horse.

Matt dismounted and quickly helped Kitty down.

"Newly, what happened? Where's Lena?" Kitty asked frantically.

Matt Dillon had helped him sit upright while he checked the injury to the side of Newly's head.

"Looks like a bullet grazed you," Matt said. "You didn't see any body. No one followed you from town?"

"I didn't see anyone, Matt." Suddenly he blurted, "Where's Lena?"

"She's not here, Newly. Can you get yourself back to town? Kitty will go with you."

"No, Kitty won't! I'm going after my daughter, dammit."

"I can make it, riding with you, " Newly claimed weakly.

"No you can't, Newly, and you'll just slow us down."

"Then I'll be following you with a posse. You can't afford to lose the trail. Go now," the young marshal insisted. "I'll make it, and I'll catch up to you. That I promise you."

***************************************************XXXXX

He was handsome for a crazy kidnapper. Tall, striking blue eyes, dark hair. In fact, he looked a lot like-

"Mannon!" Lena said it aloud without realizing it.

He mock bowed. "At your service, Miss Adams. Or is it Russell. Or is it Dillon. I believe it's actually Russell, but you are Dillon's bastard, so you'll do fine."


	7. Chapter 7

Note: I want to be up front and say that I too was not happy with this movie. When I saw the second one had to do with 'Mike' and not Kitty, I didn't even watch it. My loyalty to Kitty wouldn't allow it. I can honestly say that I've never watched the others either. From the reviews, not many people did like it. It had so much potential and the writers just seemed to 'cheap out' and used old footage and chose to have a side story that I didn't care about AT ALL.

I hope I can keep you entertained. For me this _is_ canon because I refuse to recognize any movie past RTD. So to me, it's an open universe. Thanks for the followers and reviews. I appreciate every single one of you.

Chapter 7

Matt and Kitty were forced to stop for the night or risk losing the trail. The best human tracker wasn't a bloodhound and it was easy to go completely astray and lose precious time.

The night was chilly, and they discovered a small depression in the grasslands, with a feeble spring, where they would be shielded from the wind and the light from the fire might be muted, though anyone actively looking for them and worth his salt as a tracker would find them.

Matt asked Kitty to rest while he hunted around for enough dead wood, grass, or cow chips for the fire, but he was wasting his breath.

Kitty could find no peace. Her child had vanished, obviously taken by someone with a perverse purpose, and she had been on the end of that often enough to know what her daughter might be going through. The thoughts filled her with a fear that would make most women quail and freeze in their tracks. She couldn't be still because her gut was churning with dread.

While Matt was seeing to the camp, after they'd tethered and unsaddled their horses, Kitty had walked to the top of the rise, and stood looking out over the prairie, slowly, in every direction.

There was no moonlight, but stars sprinkled liberally over the sky made the view, under happier circumstances, nothing short of glorious. The tall grass waved in a slight breeze and smelled liked sage. So different from New Orleans.

"Kitty." Matt's voice, in the silence, was full of tenderness and concern.

Her voice when she answered was heavy with despair and desperation. "Where is she, Matt? Please, tell me we'll find her alive."

He wrapped both his arms around her from behind and pulled her tightly against his chest, strong and comforting as always.

"We'll find her, Kitty. She's tough and strong-willed, and we'll be lucky to find her before she beats the hell outta whoever has her."

Kitty had to laugh, knowing her daughter.

"Come on," Matt put his arm around her shoulders and steered her back down the slope. "We need to get some rest and get an early start. We want to narrow the distance between us and them. Catch up with them as fast as possible."

As they approached the fire, Kitty noticed that Matt had laid out two separate bedrolls. She sat down on hers and pulled off her boots.

"Are you afraid, Cowboy? I promise I won't compromise your virtue if you get closer," she quirked an eyebrow at him.

Matt looked uncertain about how to answer. "I didn't want to push, Kitty, or make you think I was-"

"When have you ever added to my suffering by holding me," her voice choked with misery. "You're the only thing that might help me survive tonight."

He grabbed his bedroll and blankets and placed them side by side with hers.

"Come here," he said, his voice husky with emotion.

Kitty scooted over beside him, and, for a long time, they lay there, entwined, silent, staring at the stars.

Matt's throaty voice, low, said, "I've missed you. Not a day has gone by since you left that you haven't crossed my mind. I messed up, Kitty."

When she didn't answer, he said, "I'm sorry. I'm gonna bring our daughter home."

He looked down and her eyes were closed. The stress lines on her face caused by the last few days had relaxed in sleep; she looked peaceful.

Once they found Lena, he was going to do his damnedest to see as few of those lines as possible for as long as she'd let him stay around.

**************************************************XXXX*******

"How about letting me in on your master plan?" Lena's voice was filled with disdain.

So far Mannon, Jr., as she'd called him in her head, hadn't shown his hand when it came to figuring out where they were headed, and Lena wondered if he really had a specific destination in mind. They'd been traveling consistently northwest, and it was getting chillier, hillier, and there was more ground cover.

"How about you shut the hell up," he replied. It was dark and yet they still rode on.

Lena was no westerner but she had enough sense to know a horse could step in a hole and leave them stranded, if not in the middle of nowhere, a place where you could throw a rock to it.

"Where are we going?"

No answer.

"Would you at least tell me your name? I gotta call you something, don't I? I mean, if a pack of wolves come over the hill, what am I supposed to do, yell, 'Hey you, wolves coming?" He looked to be around 30 years old, but it was difficult to tell out here. Living rough could age a person fast.

Silence.

"I need to go to the bathroom. Really bad."

He ignored her.

"Come on! Even murderers get to go to the bathroom. Do you really want to ride to Timbuktu while you smell-"

"Alright! We'll stop, but if you try to run, I'll shoot you right here," her captor said, in a by-god-I-mean-it tone of voice.

He stopped his horse and pulled hers up by the lead rope.

"Get off."

Lena held up her hands, tied together and hooked over the saddle horn. "Just how am I supposed to do that?"

"Your problem. You gotta piss, then you get down. Fall off, if you need to go bad enough."

Bastard, Lena thought. She pulled her hands over the horn, balanced herself, gripped the horn and slid off. It was easier than she'd thought it would be. She was glad at least that the horse that Newly had chosen for her was a steady, calm gelding. If he hadn't been, she'd probably be on her ass.

"Right there, where ya are."

"How about I step behind my horse?"

A heavy sigh escaped her abductor. "Just do it, already."

When finished, she stood up and stretched. Lena'd never been in the saddle this long in one day.

"Water?" She asked.

"Would you like a steak with that? Perhaps a feather bed?" He asked sarcastically.

She stood looking at him, her silence showing her disdain. "Without water, I'm not going to get wherever we're headed alive, but if that doesn't matter..."

"Fine." He swung an open canteen out to her and she just managed to catch it.

Taking a long drink, she walked up to his horse and reached to hand it back. He leaned over, his balance off center.

Lena figured this was her best chance. She swung the canteen hitting his horse on the hindquarters and yelling as loud as she could.

Sure enough, his mount whirled in a quick circle and Mannon, Jr. lost his balance and fell hard, shoulders first.

She grabbed her reins before her horse could take off with the other one and hooked her hands over the horn, planting one foot precariously in a stirrup.

Mannon was on his feet and was desperately trying to get a hold on her horse's head stall, but Lena pulled the reins, turning in a circle and finally managed to get her other foot into the right stirrup.

Kicking the sorrel in the flank, she was moving off, her kidnapper still trying to hang on, pulling her back to him.

She pulled the horse's head back toward and into him, and Mannon was caught off guard. She felt the horse hit him as it finally gathered up its hindquarters and took off at a gallop.

Lena had no idea where she was headed at the moment, but she was heading there fast as she could possibly ride.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Lena didn't know how long she had ridden, but she had slowed her horse down enough to not wind him.

It was dark as ever she had ever seen it. Growing up in New Orleans there had been street lights and businesses galore. Oh, occasionally she had gone out in boats and 'swamping' with her friends, but even that didn't seem as dark as this. Of course, that was familiar territory and she usually hadn't been alone. Being on your home ground made a big difference. So did being alone.

She had dismounted and had worked the ropes around her hands loose with her teeth. Leading her horse now seemed the safest thing to do, not knowing the terrain, since she'd hopefully put some distance between her and Mannon.

Walking also made it easier for her to hear any other noises, she hoped, so she would stop periodically and listen for any sounds that might warn her of anything approaching.

If "Junior" was any good at tracking, at all, he could probably find her easily enough, and she wouldn't know it until he was practically on top of her. Some things couldn't be helped. It didn't make sense worrying about it at this point; her options were fairly limited.

She'd thought about turning her horse loose, hopefully leading her pursuer in a different direction, and trying to make it on her own, but that seemed pretty stupid as well. Being afoot so far from anywhere she knew was deadly. She'd starve or die of thirst; she'd lost the canteen when she'd swung it at the horse.

Finding the general direction back was within her abilities to figure out, using the tried and true axiom: sun rises in the east and sets in the west and using a stick to cast a shadow at noon.

Deep down the little girl part of her wondered how much more she would have been able to do if her father had been in her life. Would she be tougher? A better fighter? Or would he have insisted that she was girly-girly. Somehow she doubted that. Dillon had accepted her mother and her powerful personality. Her mama was no shrinking violet, and that made her smile. As far as parents went she had won the genetic lottery.

It had shocked and pleased her that her father had defended her so fiercely when the drunk had tried to pay her to go upstairs with him. After not having a strong male in her life, Lena had to admit that there was something comforting about it. Maybe now neither she nor her mother would have to fight all their battles along. She decided that if she lived through this mess that she was going to try to get along with her father and get to know him, for her mother's sake-and for her own.

Lena decided her best bet was to use all her senses, common and otherwise-especially smell. If there was any water nearby, then there ought to be something growing around it. Then again, if there was water nearby, there might also be other people, both good and bad.

She was damned if she did and damned if she didn't, but, by God, she'd go down fighting and Lena had a strong feeling that it wouldn't be long before someone would be looking for her.

Woe be unto whomever her parents found had taken or hurt her. That thought cheered her up tremendously.

**************************************XXX

Kitty came awake suddenly, her heart nearly pounding out of her chest.

She'd had a terrible dream where it wasn't her Mannon had hurt in the Long Branch all those years ago, but Lena. She stood by unable to move and watched him beat and violate her daughter while she cried out for her mama to help her.

"Kitty, what's wrong? Did you hear something?" Matt was awake in an instant, years of sleeping lightly hadn't changed.

"Bad dream," she managed to breath out the word, before she turned into him, a dry sob escaping her.

"It's alright Kitty; I'm here." Matt was doing his best but it wasn't enough.

Kitty shook him off, tendrils of her red hair falling down. "It isn't alright, Matt. _Where's our daughter_?" She cried desperately.

"I can't lose her. I couldn't live if I lost her."

"I promise you on my life, I will find her. We will get her back," Matt said firmly, and she hoped he believed it as much as he sounded like he did.

He turned her loose long enough to throw a few more pieces of wood onto the fire and the extra light shone on Kitty, making her look even more lovely—and her face visibly tear steaked.

Matt felt his knees ache as he knelt down in front of her on the blanket and opened his arms.

She leaned on her knees and fell into him. "Oh, God, I've missed you, and when I heard that you were hurt and that you might not live and I hadn't told you about Lena…."

Her words tumbled out, all the things she'd been holding in for so long.

And just as suddenly, she seemed to fly into a rage. "All you had to do was give up the damn badge! How hard could it be? Did you never love me? If I had told you would it have made a difference? This is all your fault! Do you hear me?"

She was crying and hitting him and all he could do was enfold her in his arms until she wore herself out.

Matt knew he deserved it and more and Kitty was long overdue for this meltdown after the last two weeks.

Finally the wracking sobs began to ease off and still he didn't release her. Instead he lay down and pulled her back down with him.

He kissed her forehead and wiped away the tears gently with his fingertips.

Kitty responded by reaching around behind his head and pulling his mouth to hers. His body reacted to her the way it always had, with hardening desire.

Fire long banked burst into a conflagration and the world and its griefs disappeared. Before either one knew what was happening, her blouse was open, breasts freed and her skirt was up around her waist.

He was more than ready and so was she. It had been so long but the body's memories hadn't forgotten the touch or the smell or the love and passion. Years fell away as they crashed together, again and again.

Matt pulled her onto him strongly, instinctively, and then Kitty cried out in pleasure and relief, the sound echoing across the prairie.

In the distance a coyote howled along with her, and she fell across him, sighing with relief.

Another coyote picked up the sound and soon it was all around them, and for the first time since they had seen each other in twelve years, they both burst into laughter.

*******Thanks again to all the reviewers and readers. I worked on this chapter going down I-95 yesterday (Florida is a big a** state!) and didn't get to edit and publish until today. It might not be a chapter every day, but I'm giving it my Dodge City try. I won't be home until next week. Please send good thoughts. Peace.


	9. Chapter 9

Return to Dodge: Chapter 9

Lena was cold. _To the bone cold_.

When she and newly had first left Dodge City, it had been quite a warm day. At this higher elevation, the temperature was dropping fast, along with her blood sugar.

Afraid to rest, she sat down anyway. Exhausted, hungry, and thirsty. Never in her life she ever been so hungry. She thought back to some of the awful buggy or critter like dishes that her mother's cook Velira had tried to feed her throughout her childhood. Lena would never admit it, but that mess would have looked pretty tasty right now.

Her rear and thighs were sore and her legs and feet ached from walking in new boots. Damn her vanity. She just had to have these things didn't she?

Lena was so preoccupied that she didn't know the man was behind her until he had clamped his hand down onto her shoulder.

*********************************************XXXX

Streaks of light had barely begun to illuminate the morning's dark sky when Matt and Kitty had saddled up and were on their way.

Although the anxiety about their daughter remained, the tension between them had disappeared, and they were once again the powerful team they had been, almost able to read the other's thoughts derive strength and courage from each other.

Kitty watched Matt when he dismounted every single time, as though she could will extrasensory power into him so he could glean more information from the ground and any clues that it might give up.

Matt swung one long leg up over the saddle and Kitty rode up beside him.

"They seem to be goin' north mostly," Matt said, "And I just don't understand where he seems to be headed or why."

As they pushed their mounts into a light trot, Kitty remarked, "It's going to get colder, too, isn't it? I mean, we are moving into the mountains. You don't think that we could get a late spring storm, do you, Matt?"

"Kitty, honey, anything is possible in a Kansas spring; you know that. I'm hoping that we'll find them before we have to worry about bad weather along with everything else."

He grinned at her, wrinkles on his face appearing to create a map of his life's experiences. "I suspect we'll be onto 'em before too long. Don't worry; your baby will be wantin' to kick her old man's ass in no time at all."

Kitty smiled back, her face smoother and less lined. Her stomach though felt as if it contained a huge burning mix of terror and trepidation.

************************************************XXXX

Lena sat close by the fire, an old smelly blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a battered cup filled with some of the worst coffee that she'd ever tasted. It was also some of the best. As Ben Franklin once said, "Hunger is the best sauce," and that was so true.

"I'm sorry about your nose," the girl apologized for the third time since the old man had tried to offer assistance and instead Lena had slammed her fist into his face. Blood had spewed from his nose, and he still had pieces of rags stuck up into each nostril which made him look ridiculous.

The old man's whiskers were wildly out of control and he took off an old ten gallon hat that had seen better days twenty years ago and dusted it off on his britches' leg.

"I done tolt you to fergit about my nose, now. Jest warm yerself," he gestured with his hands toward the fire, "And tell me more about this yay-hoo that's after you."

Lena smiled at him, and there was just something so dang _funny_ about this young woman that the stranger just couldn't quite put his finger on.

"It'd shore be nice to know who I was talkin' to. You gotta name, miss?"

******************************************XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mannon had picked up the Russell girl's trail. She'd done fair for a green horn, but once he found that bastard child, she was gonna pay for the bruises and cuts on his face and his collar bone that he was fairly sure was broken when she rode her damn horse over top of him to get away.

His father had written him letters describing how he had bested Dillon, but that whore, Dillon's woman, had unsettled him and cost him years of his life that he'd never get back. His father had also written to him about what he was going to do to both Dillon and the redhead when he was released.

Unfortunately, once again, his father had been the loser, but Mannon's son, "Junior," indeed, was his name, had come across an ace in the hole that could be used to crush the redhead and the old marshal that not even his father could have foreseen, their daughter. He planned to use her in every way possible, like his father had used her mother, then he would break them both by taking her life.


	10. Chapter 10

Return to Dodge

Chapter 10

Festus stared at the young woman before him, his mouth agape. Lena would have laughed aloud, but for hurting the old man's feelings.

"You mean to tell me that you are Miss Kitty's daughter. Glory be! I knowed they was somethin' about you that I had seen before!"

Lena thought his grin was going to stretch his face literally from ear to ear.

"Did Miss Kitty never tell you nothing about me? Festus Hagen?"

"You're Festus?!"

Now it was Lena's turn to look gobsmacked. "I thought my mother made you up! I couldn't believe that there was really a-I just can't believe you're Festus."

"Well, afore we get to swapping stories, I need to know who is after you and why you're out here all by your lonesome. If this man could be as close as you think he could be then we need to be a lookin' out fer him.

***************************************XXXXXX**********

Kitty saw the riders first, so distant that it was hard to make out whether they were male or female.

"Matt! Look!"

"Kitty, turn around, go back toward that gulley we passed. Stay there," he ordered her.

"Matt-"

"Kitty, if it's Lena, I can't look out for both of you. For her sake, go!"

There was no more argument. Mothers never argue when it comes to protecting their children and Kitty was no different. She whirled her bay and spurred the mare to a gallop.

Matt drew his rifle from the scabbard and hit the horse with his spurs. The other riders had seen him and were now trotting quickly in his direction.

A burden so heavy that Matt didn't feel its full weight until it was lifted when he recognized the figure of his daughter coming toward him across the prairie. What surprised him the most was the smile on her face—until he saw who was accompanying her.

"Matthew!" Festus called out before the mule he was riding even came to a juddering stop. "I think I got somebody you might be lookin' fer."

The buckskin danced up to them, and its big rider smiled at Festus, then turned his attention to the young woman.

Matt's face was pinched, and he dreaded the answer, when he asked, "Lena, are you hurt?"

She smiled at him, surprising herself at just how happy she was to see him. Her father had come for her. "I'm alright. He didn't hurt me."

He took a long appraising look at her, as if he was deciding for himself whether she was or not.

"Your mama's worried sick about you, you know. Ride over that rise and let her know you're alive."

"She's here?!"

Matt smiled at his daughter, "Did you think she would let me come without her?"

"Not a chance, Dillon. Not a chance!"

She goosed her horse and it leapt forward, headed straight for her mother.

"Festus, did you see any sign of the man who was with Lena?" He was all business now.

"No, Matthew, but that girl is shore scared of this feller. Do you have any ideay who he might be?" Festus squinted at his old friend.

"Yea, I think he might be Mannon's son. You remember him?"

"Are you joshing me? There ain't no way I could forget that piece of trash. He's got a _young'un_ and _he_ took Lena. That jest takes the hair off the cat! "

They had started to ride in the direction of Lena and Kitty, conversing as they went.

"He was taking her north, Festus, and I can't understand what he was doing. If he was going to kill her, why didn't he just do it while he had her?"

Festus' face took on a sickening pallor, and he opened his mouth to speak but then hesitated.

"What is it? Tell me, dammit. What do you know?" Matt pulled his horse up short, forcing his friend to do the same to his mule.

Festus had to make himself look into the tall man's face. "There's some bad bad places on the way up towards Colorado Springs way. Them mining camps have shacks where I've hear'ed that women is kept by the companies for the men working thare.

"Them girls ain't got no say so in how long they stay or whether they even want to be there. I've even heard tell of men trading and selling young girls to them companies.

"If'n Mannon was headin' in that direction with that girl, Matthew, then that'd be a fate worse than death."

Festus drew a deep breath, then spoke in a strong voice looking the old marshal full on in the eyes. "I'd kill that bastard, cause he needs killin'."

*******************************XXX

That evening after the women had fallen asleep, Festus and Matt sat near the fire finishing up what coffee was left.

Festus watched his friend and the way his eyes checked the spot where Miss Kitty and the girl slept, as if reassuring himself that they were really safe.

"She's cut from tough hide, that girl. As pretty as her mama and as strong as her daddy."

Matt's head swiveled to face Festus. "Did she tell you-"

"Psshaw, Matthew, nobody had to tell me whose girl she was. Fer one thing there ain't nobody that Miss Kitty would have a young'un with but you. Second, she looks like her daddy."

Matt studied the flames for a long time before he answered.

"She's not real excited about me being her father, in case she didn't tell you.

"I messed up, old friend. Everybody around me, including you, could see what I had, what I was throwing away, except me. I'm an old man now, and, for the first time in my life, I'm questioning whether what I devoted my life to doing was really worth the price I paid. I was a damn fool."

Matt threw the dregs of the coffee into the flames angrily.

"And you know what? I'm thinkin' it sure as hell wasn't worth the price I paid or Kitty paid or Lena paid."

It was hard for Festus to answer. He didn't want to further crush the heart of this man he had admired and thought of as a brother because he agreed with him.

He did say, "Git some rest, Matthew. I'm takin' first watch. I think tomorrow might be right interesting iff'n we catch us a varmint."


	11. Chapter 11

***I apologize for not updating sooner. It is a short chapter, but I got out of the hospital last night. :( I will do my best to not make you wait between chapters. Thanks for your patience and the kind reviews.

Chapter 11

The moon had disappeared but the sun not yet risen when Matt Dillon kicked out the remnants of the fire, the ashes covering his worn boots.

His familiar movements woke Festus, who then got up to help him saddle the horses and prepare to break camp.

Kitty and Lena rolled up their blankets and performed morning ablutions at the small spring.

"I fer one am lookin' forward to a heap of biscuits and gravy when we git back to Dodge. I'm so hungry my stomach thinks my throat's been cut."

Lena grinned at him. He was just like her mother had described. He was wonderful.

"Me, too, Festus," she answered.

The young woman's eyes then turned to the tall lean man who was her father. She studied him, his movements, observed his limp. The way he kept looking around, even as he was busy with something else. She now realized where her height had come from, for she was taller than her mother and larger boned. That was explained now as well. He was a man who didn't say much. No, his words were more in his actions.

That line of thought brought up a rush of anger at what her mother had been through raising her alone and being alone because she couldn't get over this man. In Lena's mind, his actions, not marrying her mother, had said all that Matt Dillon needed to say to his daughter.

She watched him now, standing with her mother off to the side, talking low. Her mother lit up in a way that Lena had never seen her do before with a man. It made her sad, angry, and a little jealous all at once, though she probably wouldn't have recognized it or admitted it if she did.

Matt helped Kitty onto her horse, Lena mounted hers as well, followed by her father and Festus. They began a slow trek up the small rise, beyond the tenacious trees that lived off the paltry water there.

Matt rode out first, Kitty, Lena, and Festus followed. All of them on the lookout for anyone nearby.

No one spoke; each entertained his or her own thoughts. The sun was bright overhead and so far no one had spotted anyone, not even Newly, which surprised Matt. He thought that the former gunsmith should have met them by now.

The shots exploded in the early morning, sending birds nearby into the sky.

The old marshal turned his horse to shield Kitty, who was closest, from the direction he thought the shots had come.

"Festus! Get Lena and take cover!"

The old Arkansan had already started moving, pulling the girl off the saddle and practically tossing her out of the way. The ground slope was not steep, but might be enough to keep them protected for the moment.

Matt pulled Kitty off her horse and pushed her down to the ground, pulling his long rifle out of the scabbard when he dismounted, then slapping the horse on the rear to move it away from him.

Lena crawled to her mother. Both men were trying to spot the shooter.

"There! Matthew! That varmint is layin' flat down out yonder. He's got a few rocks as cover, and it'll be hard to take him out. He's got the high ground and can spot us any ways we come out."

"He must have circled around us last night," Matt said. "Then he laid up here to wait for us."

Lena's voice was shrill as she cried out.

Matt turned and found his daughter with blood on her hands.

At first he thought she'd been shot, but looking down, he saw Kitty. Her blouse on the right side was sticky with blood, and there was a hole which a bullet had torn.

"Kitty! "

She raised her face to his. "I didn't even feel it at first. Lena saw it before I did."

He pulled her shirt up to look at the wound.

It wasn't a gut shot, but it was not good. Not that there was a good way to get shot, as he'd found.

"Hang in there, Kitty."

"Lena, put your hands right here," he placed her hands on the wound, trying not to notice the deep red blood seeping between his daughter's fingers. "Try to slow the bleeding—"

More shots zinged above their heads.

"Use whatever you can to pack it," he stared at her. "Lena, look at me."

She looked shocked and shaken.

"Lena, you have to do this, or your mama could bleed to death."

Matt snatched up a neckerchief that Festus quickly pulled off and tossed over to him. "Move, "he said to her, as he folded it and put it over the wound.

She nodded and pressed again, tighter, making her mother moan.

"I'm sorry, mama. I'm so sorry."

"It's gonna be alright," Kitty murmured, but she was ashen and weak already.

"Festus," Matt said, "We have to get this sonofabitch and quick."

"I'm ready to move, Matthew. Give the word," his old deputy answered back.


	12. Chapter 12

Return to Dodge:

Chapter 12

A bullet spit into the ground just in front of Matt Dillon as he peeked out of the draw, and a piece of rock splintered and threw a sliver into the side of his face. A small cut began a trickle of bright red blood that wouldn't stop, as facial wounds often bled profusely, and this was no exception.

He took his sleeve and wiped it away angrily, aggravated that he had one more damnable thing with which to contend.

He allowed his piercing blue eyes to cut to his daughter who was trying desperately to prevent her mother from bleeding to death. Both women were pale. Lena was whispering to her mother, lying close to her and trying desperately to keep her warm and alive.

Matt was terrified to look at the woman he loved more than his life. There were times they had been apart, but she had always been a steadying, permanent presence in his heart and mind. If she were gone-he couldn't bear the thought. The pain in his chest so overwhelming that he knew he would rather be the one to die.

Dying first was easier; you didn't have to live with the anguish of loss. But that would leave their child—his and Kitty's-with no parents. That could not be.

Abruptly, he made a decision.

"Festus." Matt motioned for him to come near.

"Kitty doesn't have much time. I want you to get ready to ride. I'm going to distract him to give you enough time to get out of here to get help. I don't know where in hell Newly and the posse are, but we can't wait any longer.

"I'm relying on you, old friend. Get away from here and get help as fast as you can."

"Matthew," Festus said, "That is just going to leave you against Mannon, and you don't know what he might have up yonder to outgun you and come down in here to kill off all of you'uns.

"Send Lena, and let me stay with you and help with Miz Kitty-"

Matt cut him off, "Festus, I can't take the chance that she might get shot or that she might not even find her way back to Dodge."

He peered intently into his most trusted friend's eyes. "I can't lose 'em both, not after all this.

"Do this for me, for Kitty."

Matt's face may have looked carved from granite with fissures running through it, and his eyes hard as blue diamonds, but his heart was anything but stone.

Festus knew that it was killing Dillon to realize he might lose the family he swore he never wanted as a lawman, but now realized he didn't want to live without.

"I know it's ain't gonna do me no good to ask _you_ to go fer help, and leave me behind, but there's got to be a better way. I cain't abandon you three here fer what could be a shore death sentence. I couldn't live with that, Matthew."

Matt was getting desperate and frustrated. "Festus, we don't have time to argue. I need you to go. Now! Please."

Festus looked at his friend. "Matthew, I care about you like a brother, and I plumb adore Miz Kitty, and that young'un jest because she's your'n.

"I ain't letting you die out here. Not on my watch, no sirree bob."

Matt watched him hurry for his mule, not Ruth, long dead, but one that could pass as a twin.

Festus placed his foot in the stirrup and swung his old bones up into the saddle.

He held his rifle in his hands and braced to goose the mule into action.

"Git ready, Matthew. That piece o'trash will be poppin' up, and I 'spect you to put him down."

But instead of turning in the direction of Dodge City, Festus rode up the other side of the gulch, heading out and right at Mannon.

Open grassland left Festus totally exposed, and when he spurred his mule, it would be seconds before he was easy pickings to the bastard above them.

Mannon wouldn't have long to decide to act, and Festus didn't have long before he would probably be killed.

Matt realized what Festus was up to immediately, but it was too late to stop him. Instead, he went into a low run at the opposite angle, toward the shooter, to divide Mannon's attention.

Festus lay low as an Indian, hanging over his saddle horn as close as possible to the mule's neck. He was already drawing rounds from Mannon.

Festus fired back, some shots wild; some were close enough to send his own rock chips flying into the scoundrel's face.

He was within fifty feet before a slug struck his mule, taking it down, pinning Festus underneath by one leg. All he could do was continue to fire off rounds until he was out of ammunition. Not much cover on flat ground behind a downed animal. More shots thwunked into his mule; Festus flinched each time he heard them and felt Gracie jump.

It was, though, the opening that Matt Dillon needed.

When Mannon was forced to raise his shoulders to take better aim at the rider now hiding behind the wounded animal, Matt rose up and fired until he had emptied his weapon, not calling out to give the cut-throat time to reconsider his poor choices.

Mannon dropped rudely onto the hard prairie, puffs of dust rising from where he hit the earth.


End file.
